


Monochrome

by wookberry



Category: VIXX
Genre: Fluff, M/M, also hongbin doesn't get sassy even once, just soft and affectionate, leobin hold hands a lot, no angst or drama whatsoever really, suspend your disbelief a little bit with this one folks, tad unrealistic, who is he
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-06-25
Packaged: 2020-05-19 12:17:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19356871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wookberry/pseuds/wookberry
Summary: For as long as Hongbin can remember, he's never seen colour.





	Monochrome

For as long as Hongbin can remember, he’s never seen colour.

His mother had often told him that from her perspective, the signs began to appear when he was five, unable to differentiate colours the same way other children could. There had been times where she’d taken him aside and shown him pictures with a variety of colours and asked him to identify them, but five-year-old Hongbin had just shaken his head and told her everything looked the same.

When he was growing up, it was a source of embarrassment. He masked it around his friends as much as he could, but always feared when someone would ask him to grab something of a particular colour. There was one instance where a teacher requested that he bring her a pink piece of chalk, and accused him of being difficult when he’d brought what she’d said was blue. To Hongbin, they were identical.

Needless to say, when his mother found out and met with the teacher it didn’t happen again, but he still remembers the snickers of his classmates.

As the years have gone on, Hongbin has come to terms with the fact that he’ll never know what people mean by green and orange and red and whatever else. No longer a source of embarrassment, his colour blindness has just become a nuisance, if anything. As a freelance photographer, it’s hard to tell his clients that he can’t help with what the _colour composition_ of a set or landscape is, or what to do to enhance it, and so he’d resorted to just photographing what looked good in greyscale.

Thankfully, his name and condition are not unknown in the industry, and so the staff he works with each time are usually aware and sort out the aspects of each photoshoot that are colour-vital themselves. He’s grateful, because even with his own limits, he refuses to only do black and white photography.

Though being completely colour blind is a nuisance, it brings its blessings, too.

 

~*~

 

When he first met Taekwoon, it was rather unconventional.

A work colleague had been very pushy about setting up a date between Hongbin and one of his friends, an aspiring model. When it first came up, Hongbin had to bite back the desire to roll his eyes – was this model after a boyfriend or a contract? – but he figured if he got it over and done with, his colleague wouldn’t ask again.

And so, that left him sitting across from a bubbly and bright-eyed woman in a quiet café one afternoon. Hongbin knew he had the answer to his earlier question when she whipped out her portfolio before he’d even sipped at his matcha latte.

“I like these two photos the most,” she’d gushed, long fingers spreading over the pages to flatten them against the table. “Which one’s your favourite? The one with the yellow dress or the pink one?”

His neck began to feel hot as he stared at her, realising she was serious. Their mutual “friend” must have forgotten to mention one of Hongbin’s most prominent qualities. His fingers were tying themselves in knots under the table as he stalled for time, “hmm”-ing and “ahh”-ing as he looked between the photos, desperate for any kind of sign as to what the difference was. He knew he was taking too long when the woman lifted a confused eyebrow at him.

“This yellow dress suits your hair colour,” a soft voice had called from behind him, slender fingers appearing from his right as they pointed to the photo on the left, before gliding along to the one on the right. “But this pink dress is a nicer fit.”

Hongbin looked up immediately, eager to see who was interrupting and, thankfully, saving him from making a fool out of himself. Standing beside their booth was a tall and almost delicate looking man, eyes sharp and feline-esque. Even behind the black hair that was falling over his eyes, his gaze was piercing, but soft. He had a nametag on that read _Taekwoon,_ and it was clear that he worked at the café they were in, though Hongbin thought he could have been a model with proportions like that.

Taekwoon glanced at him with an almost knowing smile, and gave him a subtle wink, one Hongbin thought he’d imagined. He turned back to the portfolio, relieved that he could now offer a proper answer, even if it technically was one that had nothing to do with colour. “Yes, they’re both nice,” he mused, looking back and forth. “But, I do think the yellow one works better for the general aesthetic.”

The woman across from him laughed and waved her hand, bashful. “I thought so too, I’m glad you agree.”

“If you’d like,” he began, careful as he examined her reaction. He vaguely noticed Taekwoon walking off to see to another table. “We can just skip this, er, meeting, and I’ll give your contact details to some of my other colleagues? Let them know you’re interested?”

Her eyes had lit up at that, hands clasped together as she bowed in her seat. “Yes, please! Let—let me give you some of my business cards, then I better go. I have a meeting with another photographer today, too.”

 _Gotta admire her determination,_ he’d thought, gracefully taking her business cards and pocketing them as he stood and bowed. She was out the door a moment later, portfolio tucked under her arm, and Hongbin sat back down.

“She seems eager,” he heard from in front of him, and looked up to see Taekwoon standing by the booth yet again. He ducked his head with a shy smile. “I hope I didn’t come across as rude; you just looked like you were struggling.”

Hongbin shook his head. “No, you weren’t rude, but yes, I was struggling.” He gave Taekwoon a rather tired smile, having done this same dance thousands of times by now. “I have monochromacy. I couldn’t tell the difference of colour between those two dresses no matter how long I spent looking at them, so you saved me from making an idiot of myself.”

“Well, that’s alright,” Taekwoon had replied, smiling almost reassuringly. Hongbin was expecting the usual onslaught of questions he normally got – had even begun reciting his answers in his head – but Taekwoon seemed content to not make a scene, which Hongbin appreciated more than he could say. “I’m glad I could help out. I should introduce myself, though. I’m Taekwoon.”

“Hongbin.” He’d reached out and shaken Taekwoon’s hand, soft skin against his own, and even in that moment, he’d felt something blooming.

 

~*~

 

“Hongbin!”

Hongbin quickly snaps out of his reverie when he hears Taekwoon call him, looking around in confusion before his eyes settle on the man whose long legs are striding up to him. When he gets close, Taekwoon leans forward and kisses him on the cheek, fingers ghosting down Hongbin’s wrist as he takes his hand in his, tugging gently in the direction of the entrance to the restaurant they have a lunch reservation at. He beams and squeezes Taekwoon’s hand. “Hey.”

“You looked like you were thinking hard about something before I called out. What was it?”

“Just reminiscing,” he says, watching as Taekwoon tells the waiter his name, both of them following him to their reserved table outside. He pulls Taekwoon’s chair out for him, getting him settled before he takes his own seat.

“Reminiscing about what?” Taekwoon asks, pouring water into Hongbin’s glass. He glances up at him, amused, before filling up his own. Hongbin kicks his foot playfully under the table, cheeky grin plastered on his face, and Taekwoon laughs, understanding. “Ah, about us.”

The breeze is calm today, enough to blow Taekwoon’s fringe out of his eyes, but not enough to knock anything over. Hongbin unashamedly admires the man sitting across from him, watching as Taekwoon’s long fingers turn the pages of the menu, eyebrows raising and furrowing at the ingredients he doesn’t recognize. He’s interrupted, however, when the conversation of a nearby table begins to filter through.

“What a beautiful day to sit outside, and the colour on those cherry blossom trees is incredible! So pink!”

Hongbin briefly glances at the table, watching as the four middle-aged women stare in awe at the scenery around them. He follows their gaze to the aforementioned cherry blossom trees, but his face falls when he remembers that he can’t see what they’re talking about. He stares at the cherry blossoms forlornly.

“And those flowers they’ve planted by the railing,” one of the other women says, making sounds of wonderment. “They really thought about fitting colours for the season, and what matches the restaurant – those peachy ones are especially beautiful!”

He doesn’t realise he’s been staring at the flowers until a gentle hand rests on top of his own. He turns back to Taekwoon, who intertwines their fingers and smiles in as much understanding as he can offer. “Let’s order, and then talk about that holiday.”

“Oh, yeah,” he smiles, and tries as best he can to tune out the conversation from the nearby table. The waiter approaches, and the two of them order and give him their menus, turning back to each other once he’s gone. “So, the holiday?”

“Mm,” Taekwoon hums, “I was thinking Jeju-do is probably the best out of all the ideas we had, considering we both want to relax but not be in the wilderness or something.”

Hongbin chuckles. “Yeah, Jeju-do sounds perfect.”

His eyes settle on the man across from him, smile fading ever so slightly as he stares and realises that he’ll never see Taekwoon in colour, or be able to see what kind of colours he likes to wear, because he’s sure Taekwoon is even more breathtaking when he’s not black and white.

Taekwoon smiles at him and squeezes his hand on top of the table, eyes gentle and probably a lot more aware of what Hongbin is thinking than he himself realises. They’ve talked about it enough before, when things become too frustrating and Hongbin grows tired of how awful it feels to be missing out. Taekwoon never pushes, never tries to tell Hongbin he understands, merely offers an ear and a shoulder, and it’s all Hongbin needs in those moments.

“Our bruschetta is coming,” Taekwoon signals, looking over at the approaching waiter. “Don’t fill up on it though; I want dessert too.”

“I expected as much,” Hongbin laughs, adoration blooming in his chest as he watches Taekwoon stare at the plate placed between them with wide eyes.

 

~*~

 

Taekwoon is in the middle of cleaning up when he hears a knock on the door.

When he opens it, Hongbin grins at him, holding up a bouquet of roses. “Happy second anniversary!”

“Oh,” Taekwoon beams, gently taking the flowers from him and pressing a chaste kiss to Hongbin’s lips as he ushers him inside. “Thank you, they’re beautiful. You’re here earlier than we planned, though.”

“I know,” Hongbin chuckles, hanging up his coat. “The shoot finished early and I knew you were home, so… plus, it meant I had more time to go and get flowers. Do you like them? I uh… I told the florist I was colour blind and asked her to pick out the nicest blue ones they had, since you said a while back that blue flowers are your favourite. They didn’t have any orchids though. Sorry, I’m rambling.”

Taekwoon looks down at the bouquet in his hands. A bouquet of red roses. He’s been to this florist before, and he knows it’s one of their most expensive items.

He looks up to see Hongbin watching him expectantly, almost nervous, with a small smile on his face. Masking the mix of anger and sadness he’s feeling at the idea of someone taking advantage of his boyfriend, he kisses Hongbin again and grins. “I love them, they’re perfect.”

“Great,” Hongbin sighs, visibly relieved. “She promised me their colour was really beautiful.”

“I bet she did,” Taekwoon says lightly, the acidic undertone in his voice going unnoticed. He lets himself scowl as he walks into the kitchen and grabs a new vase from the cupboard, unable to stop picturing a manipulative florist going out of her way to convince Hongbin to buy one of their most expensive arrangements once she’d realised he wasn’t joking. He grabs a pair of scissors and cuts the end of the stem on one of the flowers a little too harshly.

Thankfully, Hongbin’s too busy looking through the contents of his fridge to notice.

 He grabs the flowers and gently eases them into the water-filled vase, taking a step back to admire them. Hongbin looks over with a grin. “They look great.”

“They do,” Taekwoon agrees, reaching over and squeezing Hongbin’s fingers. “Thank you for thinking of me.”

 

~*~

 

A few days later, as they’re walking to the botanical garden Taekwoon had suggested they go for a walk in, Hongbin can feel that Taekwoon is antsier than usual. He doesn’t push, though, and figures Taekwoon will tell him what’s going on once they reach the garden and find somewhere to sit. All he can hope is that it’s nothing bad.

Hongbin suggests just sprawling out on the grass by the small, manmade river, but Taekwoon shakes his head and continues to tug at his hand, leading him further into the garden to a small clearing in the middle of one of the more extravagant gardens in the area. Hongbin sits and looks at him expectantly.

“I told you my anniversary present wouldn’t get here on time,” Taekwoon explains, fingers fiddling with a few blades of grass after pulling his bag closer. “It arrived today, so I wanted to make it special.”

“Okay,” Hongbin replies warily, eyeing the bag as Taekwoon begins to rifle through it. He’s not sure what he’s expecting, but the trendy looking pair of glasses with clear frames that Taekwoon unearths aren’t it. “Oh, glasses? My eyesight’s fine though, but they are nice.”

“Put them on,” Taekwoon orders lightly, a small nervous smile on his face as he holds them out. Hongbin’s not sure if he’s imagining the trembling of Taekwoon’s fingers or not, but he takes them from him and carefully lifts them to his eyes.

He almost drops them before the temple tips have even hooked behind his ears.

The world around him explodes in a burst of colour he’s never seen before, the flowers around him all competing for his undivided attention with their vibrant hues and natural beauty. He looks down at the grass between his fingers, suddenly understanding why the term ‘greenery’ is a thing, and before he realises there are heavy tears sliding down his cheeks.

Snapped to reality, he remembers who he’s with, and whips his head around to look at the one person he’s wanted to see in colour more than anything or anyone. His voice gets caught in his throat.

Taekwoon is grinning at him, his own tears brimming in his eyes. His skin is beautiful and pale, and he’s wearing a colour that Hongbin’s not quite sure what is yet but he knows it suits him. The colour of his lips is delicate and soft, so befitting of how Hongbin knows they feel, and he’s never wanted to kiss him so badly.

He reaches for Taekwoon’s hand and squeezes, sobbing harder as all the sadness and frustration at missing out and being different seems to dissipate from him, no longer the case.

“They work, they work,” Taekwoon cries, holding Hongbin’s hand in both of his. He lets go just to brush the tears off of Hongbin’s cheeks, choking out a watery laugh as Hongbin smiles up at him.

Hongbin is glad, now, that Taekwoon had insisted they sit down deeper in the garden, because he can’t imagine the attention this would draw when there’s people around, and he’s glad that this moment is shared between them alone. It feels too intimate to share with a bunch of onlookers.

“You’re beautiful,” he sniffles, pulling Taekwoon closer as his eyes dart all over his face. He’s said it countless times before, and always meant it, but now he truly knows just how ethereal Taekwoon is. “You’re really beautiful.”

Taekwoon cups his face properly and pulls him forward, lips meeting as he winds his arms around Hongbin’s neck. He pulls away and cradles Hongbin’s face gently, thumbs brushing over his cheeks. “Let’s go for a walk.”

 

~*~

 

As they walk through the garden, Taekwoon helps him identify all the colours they see. He’s heard all the names before but he’s never been able to attribute any of them properly until now. Their fingers stay intertwined and they take their time, allowing Hongbin to soak everything in.

“These were expensive, weren’t they?” Hongbin asks, pouting slightly when Taekwoon points out a koi fish in the pond in front of them instead of answering.

Unwavering in his pointed gaze, he watches Taekwoon glance over at him and then whine dramatically. “The price didn’t matter to me, it… it’s not like a refund would be impossible,” Taekwoon explains quietly. “I… I couldn’t even be sure they’d work, I just wanted you to put them on without having any preconceived notions or expectations of what they were supposed to do, just so you weren’t disappointed.”

He looks over at Hongbin properly, thumb rubbing the top of Hongbin’s hand.

“The fact that it worked, that you can experience this now… it means everything to me.”

Hongbin ducks his head bashfully, dimples protruding as he grins down at the fish, splashes of orange and white scattering through the water.

“So,” Taekwoon starts, “You’ve seen pretty much every colour there is now, do you have any favourites?”

He turns to look at Taekwoon’s knitted sweater, tugging lightly on his sleeve. “What colour is this, again?”

“Red.”

Hongbin smiles. “Red, then.”

 

~*~

 

The walk back through the city feels like being somewhere foreign to him, but he’s lived here and has been walking these same streets for years now. Somehow, colour breathes so much more life into the world than Hongbin’s used to, and it means the walk to Taekwoon’s apartment takes much longer as Hongbin keeps dawdling just to stare and admire.

Taekwoon’s apartment had always been nice, decorated in the things that he likes but not so much that the space felt overbearing. Hongbin walks into the lounge and sees the large photo of Taekwoon’s nephew that he’d put up earlier in the year and smiles, happy to see him in colour.

As he walks into the kitchen, he stops in his tracks when the flowers displayed on the kitchen table grab his attention.

They’re red.

“Taekwoon?” he calls, and senses the other walking up behind him.

“Oh.” Taekwoon purses his lips, looking at Hongbin worriedly. Hongbin turns to him and tilts his head.

“They’re… red. Have they always been red? The florist told me they were blue. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I…” Taekwoon fiddles with his fingers nervously, suddenly looking very small, as if worried Hongbin will get angry with him. “It’s the gesture that matters most to me, more than the colour. I love flowers in any colour anyway.”

“So, I guess I got swindled?” Hongbin chuckles, walking closer to the flowers and gently caressing the petals of one rose. “Oh well, they’re still beautiful.”

“They are,” Taekwoon agrees, “Not because of their colour, but because you bought them for me.”

 

~*~

 

Hongbin decides to stay over that night, feeling oddly clingy and against the idea of parting from Taekwoon so soon. He settles into bed comfortably and watches Taekwoon flitter about the room, throwing his pajamas onto the bed.

“What were you wearing on our first date?” Hongbin asks curiously, playing with a loose thread on one of the blankets.

Taekwoon peeks his head out from his walk-in wardrobe. “Mm? What I wore?” He mulls it over in his head for a bit before smiling. “I still have that outfit. One sec.”

Hongbin waits patiently, playing with the bedcovers. A few minutes later, Taekwoon walks out of the wardrobe with a smile, and Hongbin feels like he’s falling in love all over again.

He’s wearing a slim fitting pair of jeans and a large sweater that covers his hands almost completely, looking ever the image of the Taekwoon that walked into that restaurant over two years ago. Hongbin’s chest feels warm as he stares at him.

“Pink, right?” He asks, gesturing to the sweater. Taekwoon nods.

“Pink looks so good on you.”

Taekwoon beams and twirls on the spot a little before shedding the clothes and changing into his pajamas.

Hongbin slowly takes his glasses off and sets them down on the beside table. He watches Taekwoon climb into bed next to him with a smile, realizing that even if the glasses don’t cure anything, they at least give him the experience of colour and the memory of how everything looks even after he’s taken them off.

They slide down deeper under the covers together, legs tangling as Taekwoon nestles his head in Hongbin’s neck, sighing in contentment as he throws an arm over Hongbin’s side. Hongbin smiles and allows himself to be lulled into sleep by the warmth of Taekwoon’s body and the breaths against his neck.

 

_Epilogue_

Hongbin looks out the window of the plane, taking in the sight of how deeply blue the ocean below him is, along with the colours of Jeju-do, just as lively from this high up as they will be once the plane lands.

“So there were a few things I had planned,” Taekwoon explains from beside him. “I was looking at the aquarium, some of the waterfalls… but even if we do those things there’ll still be plenty of time to relax and be extra lazy at the resort.”

“It all sounds perfect,” he reassures, turning his attention back to the window. He smiles as Taekwoon’s hand wraps around his arm, chin resting on his shoulder as he looks out the window as well. They were going to have a full weekend on the island just for the two of them, and Hongbin’s relieved that after how full on work had been for the both of them the last few weeks that they’re finally en route.

He rests his head on top of Taekwoon’s with a smile as the pilot announces they’re beginning their descent, thinking about his suitcase somewhere in the back of the plane and the ring he’d packed deep inside it.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so uhh firstly I'm sorry because I did a lot of research on this topic and found out that 1. the colour blindness Hongbin has comes with a lot of other health issues and 2. the glasses I talk about don't work on that sort of colour blindness + do not come with clear frames. But... since it's my fic I decided to ignore all of that in the name of fluff and happiness o/
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! This was toothache-level sweet but it's an AU I've had mulling about in my head for over a year now and I'm glad I finally got it out!
> 
> I have a fic twitter now! Follow me if you'd like @leobinning <3


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